Remote Switching of Large Dust Collector

This isn’t exactly built out of wood but it’s a project that many of you are likely facing. I wanted to share my experience setting up a dust collector in a different room and how I’m controlling it with remote switching.

My workshop is on the 2nd floor of my garage. I’ve placed the dust collector (3HP Delta Model 50-763) on the lower level of the garage along with my compressor. This helped create much needed room in the shop and also helped keep the noise away from the shop.

As you can see the Dust Collector is large and on wheels. I wanted to be able to disconnect it easier so I can move it around for cleaning. I also wanted to be able to turn it on and off from any machine in the shop. To do this I worked closely with my electrician who came up with the idea of using 3-way and 4-way switches in a low voltage (24 volt) circuit connected to a contactor. Below is the wiring diagram.

I’m sure the diagram looks complicated but in reality it’s quite simple. Below is a picture showing the wiring adjacent to the dust collector in the garage.

I have a 3-way or 4-way switch located at every workstation: table saw, miter saw, drill press, band saw, planer, jointer, etc.

If anyone is interested you can check out a quick video (9 mins long) that shows how it was done and gives a quick look at the shop.

@ DIYaholic – That’s why it’s really important to get an electrician involved with this project. My electrician (he wires all the houses that I build) helped with the concept and re-wiring the relay in the motor control on the dust collector.

Nice job! When I wired the DC in my previous shop, I also used a 24VAC door bell transformer to power a contactor with a 24VAC coil. To simplify the switch arrangements and lower the costs I put a standard 59 cent generic single pole wall switch at each blast gate. The switches were all hooked together in parallel with 18GA zip cord. Worked great. I wired the door bell transformer into the shop light circuit so that the dust collector could not come on unless the shop lights were on—the shop was in a separate outbuilding. Since the control wiring was all low voltage, there was no need for conduit except for the 240VAC wiring for the DC.

Great set up. My version is an actual remote. I purchased a heavy duty remote control kit normally used for elaborate outdoor lights. I have my HF dust collector plugged into it and I put some velcro strips on the back of the remote and the outer edge of the table saw. I sure it wouldn’t work with that beast of a unit you have but it works great for the smaller collectors. Thanks for sharing.